Tetons!

We are leaving for my friend Cs cabin in the Tetons! Yay. So I have been stuffing the camper with every item possible - the problem with bringing the camper is that we DO have room to bring more, so we do! Tons of stuff. But once it is all in there it is a pretty nice ride (until it is time to unpack!)

So we'll be kayaking, and shopping and eating (hopefully in a responsible way mostly)...and having coffee on the beautiful new deck. Can't wait, maybe I will figure out how to post the pictures this week - I do bring all the manuals for camera, ipod etc since I will actually have time to look at them for a change.

boat

http://userweb.windwireless.net/~jimc/boat.html

I wish I could figure out how to post a picture, but who has time for that? Anyway, here is a link to Jim's webpage which has pictures of ALL our vehicles, this link featuring the boat. This boat was bought by his father when Jim was a teenager, and it has rotted in the barn for many years now but I guess it is sound. So we are having it reupolstered (will cost $$$, but way less than buying a boat!) and a few parts for the motor. I've never owned a boat before, but I love going out on the river/lake with friends who have boats. I understand it is best to be the friend and not the actual boat-owner, but I guess my time has come!

Other exciting side issues with the boat include where to store it - since we are spending big bucks to get it all nice we want it to stay that way. Jim wants to get a storage unit you buy from freight companies and stick it in the woods. This would be the perfect thing except for one tiny detail: storage unit is 8'x24'; boat is 7'9"x 23'. Sadly because it is actually smaller dimentions Jim thinks we can just squeeze it in, but I think we need just a tiny bit more room...

vacations

Tomorrow is our first summer concert - hightlights include William Tell (where are you supposed to breathe???) Mendolssohns Fingals Cave which is GREAT!, and Schumann Symphony #1 (m1 &3) And a bunch of pops stuff, should be fun. It appears the rain they forcast for Sunday earlier in the week is now coming on Monday (yay). We have a blow-up shell - very weird looking, you can check it out here(bottom of page): http://www.hayden.govoffice.com/

Also I can't believe that next Friday we are leaving for a week to visit my friend in Wyoming - she has a cabin overlooking the Tetons (near Jackson Hole). Fun fun fun, we will go Kayaking and hiking and probably wander through Yellowstone.

Another week, shot to ****. I got a fab new desk yesterday on Craigslist - it is a rolltop in great shape - $250. I have always wanted one, and I would have bought a new one but this was in great condition and I love it! (happy dance) Now I can make my "oboe studio" in the middle of our living room.

We have a space issue, mainly because Jim lived in the house for 7 years before I did, and he won't move his stuff. I am fine with sharing most of the house, but I really wanted one room to myself for an office/practice room (we have plenty of space for this). He actually agreed to that before we were married, but he didn't understand that I actually wanted a room like when you move into a new house, cleaned out! So I could put my stuff in and make it my room, with no beds that his parents had, and no bookcases (full of his books) etc. I have tried about every room in the house, but I finally decided I would just go for a corner of a room, and move the nasty couch he got for $50 (that we must keep forever) out of the way; and put the weird and very uncomfortable Danish Modern lounge chair on the other side - and move the mountain of computer equipment a little bit and then I'd have a corner! Yay. Something to call my own, which is important to me even though I'm part of a team now. This is very threatening to him for some reason, I just don't get it. But I have a beautiful desk for a start!

summer dayz

Seems like there is less to blog about these days. But for the update: Choir party was great, the house was just off the lake and PartyLady had just had her landscaping done - complete with a beautiful waterfall/walk-in pond. It was all huge boulders (no visible lining)and about the size of a large hot tub with seats and steps made out of boulders. D and the other kids started by dipping toes, and ended by being completely soaked. Not many people from the bell choir were there, just us and the K's, but we'll do something in the fall and hopefully more can come.

Orchestra tonight, I haven't been playing much. Too much socializing! But I realize we are playing this weekend - so I need to get it together. William T is long, I need to work out the breathing better. I am still basically sight-reading it; what IS my problem??? After this I have a couple of weeks until Puttin It Together starts, but I'd better be ready for serious playing by then.

I have been going to the gym religiously, 5 days last week. I still don't do much outside of the gym, today I have a session with the trainer. She wants me to do exercises morning and night, and I just don't want to. La! Also eating is problematic as I eat everything. But I'm doing better, just have to keep that in mind.

Choir party

So my bell choir job is basically over for the summer, just have our end of year picnic to organize...we thought this year it would be fun to have a music picnic instead of just the bell choir, since so many people are involved in both. However, the date we chose (a month ago) is this Saturday, and I STILL have not heard where and when! One of the bell people offered her place, but a vocal person REALLY wanted it at her house (according to the director, I don't know this person even by name) so we were going to have it there after the vocal director checked on times etc. Since then I have left various messages but have heard nothing. I haven't even called the bell people because I didn't want to call with the date and call again with directions, but now I wish I had! Of course I've been gone this weekend too. I just feel badly because probably some people won't be able to come because we weren't organized. Do I really want to do this job again next year??

I'm gettin old

Just heard the new principle oboe for Atlanta Symphony is 21 year old Elizabeth Koch. Holy cow. And I can't even get up the nerve to audition for the sub list of our "big" (4th tier) orchestra! But we do with our lives what we can, and I'm pretty happy with the little symphony right now. Glad we are playing a few "real" pieces for our pops concerts.

summermusic

Tonight we had our first rehearsal for summer orchestra, we ARE playing all of Wm Tell! Yay. Also the Hebrides Overture, and a couple of fun marchy things, but the rest is jazz and they actually have several people doubling on saxes - they are excited to do it but I just hate that stuff. I'm glad they didn't just put in an obligatory oboe part though. Of course we are doing a few things with oboe doubles the trumpet all the way through, and what is up with that oboe part in stars and stripes???? No one can possibly hear it, and in the original band parts it is only piccolo (at least our principle flute told me that). It is fun to play but completely superfluous.

vacation

Scrambling to get out the door this morning, I want to practice for an hour, then go to the gym and leave from there. It is about a 6 hour drive to my mom's house, so not a horrible drive but you notice it.

Picked up music for my orchestra last night - we're actually doing some fun stuff for the "symphony on the sand" concert. NOT looking forward to playing on a beach, but if the weather is perfect it could be fun. I'm hoping we do all of William Tell, we did it for a children's concert a few years ago and only did the loud part. I'm guessing we will do it all, but we are skipping the slow mvt of the Schumann 1st Symphony (which we did on our May concert). Of course, that mvt is as long as the whole W.T. so who knows. Can't wait to get back for that, keep forgetting that on Monday (same day I drive back) I have a band concert! I suppose I should get excited for that too, but I'm just glad it will be over and I get my Monday nights back.

Marcia Funebre

This is a sad day, our stupid dog slid off her tether and attacked the neighbor's dog again (last time he had a $1200 vet bill). He was pretty mad (understandably) but very understanding...I don't know what else we can do but put her down. She is a nice dog when she's around us, but I guess she must have had some puppyhood trauma or something.

Daniel (5) seems to be taking it ok, I told him Bella was not able to be around other dogs, and maybe people too, so she would have to go away. I don't like glossing over death, but in this circumstance (where we are essentially going to be responsible for her death) I think it best. We will still have our other dog Donna, who is just a big old softie.

I guess as responsible dog owners, you have to take do the right thing for society even if it means the dog has to go. Sad sad sad.

workin

We have moved all the furniture out of the kitchen now - any second now we will get the floor ripped up so we can put in the fake hardwood floor! Actually I am going to my mom's house this weekend so hopefully Jim will get it done while I'm gone (hahahaha!). That would be great, but I'm not holding my breath.

Fireworks

We also do this really cool gig in July that is called the Fireworks concert - they hire the original instrumentation for the Fireworks Music (Handel) which is 20-24 oboes, 16 or so bassoons, 8 horns, 8 picc trumpets, serpent and ophiclide (sp?) and various timpani. They always play the Fireworks music at the end of the concert, with actual fireworks shot off in tempo (more or less) which is so cool. But the first half of the concert (which takes place on a floating stage in the river, sort of like a nod to the Water Music) we play other pieces, usually from the period but not always that they orchestrate for that group. It is a blast because there are so many double reeds, and no competition since we are all just playing the same part (oboes divide into 3 when there are eh parts, bassoon sometime have 1st and 2nd). The same people sometimes come from the far reaches of the earth (we've had people from Austrailia and Germany) so it is always a great social event.

Satisfaction

I think it was somewhat unclear in my posts yesterday, I got a call at 8:30pm from G asking if I was available for a gig this morning - mere hours away! Anyway, I guess I pulled it off with all the "gods of the symphony", as my husband put it. They were all very nice and although I had a few "whoops" moments it went very well overall. The biggest thing was in the second concert I got water in the keys (very typical oboe problem, makes it sound like you are gargling while playing). Of course there is nothing you can do if you are playing, and the first I knew was when we played William Tell - the oboe has the trumpet part for the first 16 bars and it is mostly all one note, and of course that was THE gurgley note. Oh well, the kids probably didn't notice and the other players know that isn't my fault!

Now I feel like laying around the house. It is very humid and overcast today, supposed to thunderstorm tonight. We have community band tonight, will be my last rehearsal before the concert so I guess I better shape up! And tomorrow we start summer orchestra rehearsals, I'm excited to see everyone again. After our concert at the end of this month we have until the middle of August off, but I'm doing a show (Puttin it Together, Sondheim) in July so I have a lot going on.

big gig

Well, as I was tootling along, playing just because, no real gigs for a few weeks...and suddenly G is sick, and he has a gig which he asked me to play! Tomorrow morning at 9am - over an hour from my house, and it is all sight reading with the BIG symphony quintet! Exciting, scary, intimidating, fun...will my reed be ok??? Mostly I think I'll be ok - it is a children's concert, and the rest of them have done it amillion times, but I will be reading all the stuff. Mostly excerpts from Pictures, but then there will be the "this is the oboe" speech (short) and a couple of this is what the oboe sounds like excerpts that are supposed to be be memory. I had to pick up the music from G (there and back = 1 hour), and arrange for babysitting, etc etc, so I haven't really had time to freak out properly, hopefully I will wait until afterwards. I am excited to play with these really great musicians though - I'm sure they will help me along!

Seems like time is flying by - I have actually practiced every day this week and went to the gym (although the eating part is not so good!). I downloaded a freebee version of Finale (way watered down) and was able to transpose the clarinet part to C for the Mozart clarinet concerto. Our section clarinets are in need of help, and my sight-transposing stinks. I did try! But this is much better.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a lesson with G, apparently he has a gig at our usual time. I know he isn't interested in playing with the little symphony, but I feel badly because he doesn't get to play very often with the big symphony (utility oboe). Now that we get paid, it might become more interesting to him, but I don't think it is enough pay. But I love getting to play principle - I feel like I'm getting away with something because it is so fun!

My student had her band concert on Friday, I took D. As soon as we got there the power went out, and after a few minutes they decided to hold the concert outside! The band was ok, but the choir had their accompaniment cd stuck in the player, with no power to get it out! Hahaha, that'll show em to use live musicians. They didn't even do anything complex - I'm sure there were students who could have played the piano part. *sigh* But my student did great - even with her old reed (we have a lesson this week). There were a few solos, and I'm so proud - she's only been playing about 18 months, with 8 months of lessons, and she's off to the state university in the fall to study oboe!